


Our Time Is Now

by heartsdesire456



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician)
Genre: Angst, Happy Ending, Historical, M/M, Past Character Death, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-02
Updated: 2013-03-02
Packaged: 2017-12-04 01:31:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/704941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>When Tommy stumbles across a box of old pocket watches in a storage room, he and Adam discover something absolutely incredible. Dropped into memories of past lives with abruptly ended stories, Adam and Tommy are faced with the revelation of a lifetime.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Time Is Now

**Author's Note:**

> This story was a hard one to write. I picked some really great art and then had NO inspiration. However, I finally squeaked out what I would really consider a great fic for such a struggle to find inspiration! I had a goal to break hearts and still give a happy ending and I really think I did it here. I want to give a big thanks to my wonderful betas blacknblue2 and kachangdt .
> 
> MOST OF ALL! I want to thank Moodwriter for the INCREDIBLE piece of art that inspired this wacky fic! LOTS OF LOVE! <3
> 
> Also yes, the pocket watch idea is DEFINITELY inspired by Doctor Who!!!
> 
> SEE END NOTES FOR HISTORICAL NOTES! VERY SPOILERY!

Tommy laughed as Isaac chased him through the halls. “YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!” he shouted over his shoulder before ducking down a new hallway. It was dark as he neared the end and found an unlocked door. He rushed in and shut the door, clicking the lock behind him. As he heard Isaac approaching, he slowly backed into the room in the darkness. He held his breath as the doorknob rattled, only releasing it when it sounded like Isaac had gone on.

Tommy turned, squinting in the darkness to try and make out some detail so he could find somewhere to sit and wait until Isaac had gone back to the dressing room, having given up on his search for Tommy. He felt his way, only to curse when he knocked something over with his flailing hands. He headed back to the door, unlocking it, only to pause. He decided to clean up the mess he had made and flicked on the light so that he could go back to clean up whatever he knocked over before he could get in trouble. When he found the box he had toppled with his clumsy fingers, he was surprised to find an extremely old-looking wooden box with a latch on the front in amongst a bunch of old stage props.

Tommy righted the box and knelt next to it, looking at the cover. The engravings weren’t any language he recognized as he ghosted his fingertips across the stained, dark wood. He flicked open the metal latch and opened the lid, wincing as the old iron hinges groaned. What he found inside surprised him. Inside the box were five clearly old and slightly tarnished brass pocket watches. He reached out and picked one up, looking at the inscription on the front curiously.

The etching was too scratched and faded to read. Tommy couldn’t help his curiosity and opened the watch. Immediately he was knocked backwards without any warning, and everything went black.

~

_**Berlin, Germany: 1939** _

Tom opened his last bottle of wine, sighing as he poured himself a glass. “Here’s to you, Papa,” he muttered, glancing at the photo of his parents on the wall next to his bed. He looked around his small flat and shook his head. He was going to miss it. It wasn’t much, a one-room flat with a small wood stove for warmth and cooking, a bed, and a table with only one chair, but it was his. He was being reassigned to a post at the other end of the city and had been told he would be moving into barracks for good this time. At least until he got shipped off to war.

Tom’s musings were interrupted by a tapping at the door and he froze. He looked up at the clock, which read 10:30pm, and cursed, knowing there was only one person who would be at his door, no matter how much they shouldn’t be. He grabbed his pistol just in case and unlocked the door before opening it just a crack. “Who’s there?”

Blue eyes appeared in the crack and a voice whispered, “You know who it is, Tom.”

Tom opened the door and yanked Adam in by his jacket, shutting and locking the door behind him while Adam shook off the cold water in his hair. “Adam,” he growled, turning back, laying his gun on the table as he followed him to the small stove. “Adam, why are you out?!” he demanded, and Adam gave him a look as he shucked off his jacket, the yellow star catching Tom’s eye when he tossed it across the table. “It’s past curfew. If you got caught-“

“But I didn’t, and I haven’t ever, and I’m not going to,” Adam said with a smile. He walked up to Tom, who was still glaring up at him, and took his hands. “I wanted to see you,” he said, raising Tom’s fingers to his lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

Tom deflated some, shaking his head. “Adam…” He looked up at him with wide brown eyes. “If anybody had seen you-“

Adam leaned closer, pressing their foreheads together. “I know what would happen to me. But I haven’t seen you in days. I had to,” he whispered, looking into those big, warm eyes he loved so much. “I can’t stand not seeing you.”

Tom smiled, nodding slightly. “Okay.” He sighed, pulling away. “Come sit,” he said, tugging at Adam’s hand. “I was having my last bottle of wine.” He nudged Adam so he sat in the lone chair. “Now I can share it,” he said with a wicked little grin as he plopped right into Adam’s lap, looping an arm around his neck.

Adam just smiled and curled his arms around Tom’s waist and knee. “Sounds fun,” he said, taking the bottle as Tom took the glass he’d already poured. “Here’s to another day,” he mumbled as they bumped their respective containers and took a long drink each. “So, what have you been doing since I saw you last?” Adam asked, finger plucking absently at Tom’s shirt near his hip.

Tom winced and bit his lip. “Updates and new assignments,” he said in a tight voice. “I’m- I’m being transferred. Tomorrow.”

Adam choked on his wine and put down the bottle. “Tomorrow?!” Tom nodded. Fear crept into Adam’s eyes and he reached up to touch Tom’s cheek, almost as if he was afraid he was about to disappear. “Where?”

Tom smiled sadly. “Across the city. They’re moving me into barracks.”

Adam cursed. “How- will I still see you?” he asked uneasily, eyes searching Tom’s desperately.

Tom sighed heavily, eyes falling shut. “I don’t know,” he admitted. He put down his glass and curled the fingers of his free hand into Adam’s hair. “I’ll try to get away to see you, but we won’t have anywhere to… be together. Not safely.”

Adam shook his head fiercely. “No, we’ll find a way.” He swallowed hard and bit his lip before letting out a soft sound. “We have to find a way. I love you.”

Tom nodded, forcing a smile. “We’ll find a way,” he assured Adam, closing the gap to press a chaste kiss to his lips. “We’ve managed this long, we’ll be okay. Love is worth it,” he whispered against Adam’s mouth.

Adam held him close. “What else?”

Tom shook his head slightly, resting his temple against Adam’s throat. “Things are only getting worse, Adam. The news from Poland is…” He shook his head. “I’m so scared they’ll send me there. I hear things. Terrible things,” he breathed. “I can’t do it. If they order me to help them, I can’t. I never could.”

Adam swallowed hard, throat working against Tom’s forehead. “Is it going to be like that here?” he asked fearfully. “I’ve heard things, too. They say that my people are going to be exterminated. _Exterminated_ , Tom. Like pests instead of people.” He let out a weak breath. “They said it was in a paper. Someone wrote about it. It- that can’t happen, right?”

Tom shook his head. “Of course not. They couldn’t possibly do something like that. But I don’t know what will happen. I keep hearing things about work camps. Like prisons. That’s bad enough, though,” he admitted, closing his eyes. “I hope not.”

“But men like us… they are putting us in prison, aren’t they?” Adam asked.

Tom pulled back and looked into his eyes. “We won’t get caught,” he promised. He kissed Adam. “We won’t be caught. We can’t be.” 

Adam smiled. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said, turning to take another long swig of his drink. “Come on,” he said, tapping Tom’s thigh before shoving him to his feet. He stood while Tom stared in confusion and walked over to the radio on the floor by the bed.

“Adam, don’t! If someone hears the music-“

“They’ll think you want to hear music,” Adam argued, rolling his eyes. “I miss music, Tom. You live alone, it makes more sense to hear music than two people talking,” he pointed out. He smiled and offered his hand to Tom as he walked back. “Dance with me?”

Tom rolled his eyes. “Adam, I feel like a girl when we dance-“

“Please?” Adam added in a small voice. He took a breath and looked down. “Tom… this could be the last night we get to be together. Please dance with me?”

Tom’s breath caught in his throat. “Adam, it won’t be-“

“But it could be,” Adam argued, his eyes pained. “Please?”

Tom put down his glass and walked into Adam’s space. “Of course,” he said, smiling shakily as he took Adam’s large, warm hand in his right hand and placed his left on Adam’s shoulder. “Anything for you, Adam.” He smiled up at Adam, earning a kiss to his forehead. Tom turned and laid his cheek against Adam’s chest, grinning when Adam began to hum along to the music as they danced, slow and sweet. Being in Adam’s arms was the most peace he ever felt anymore. As they danced, everything seemed to slowly melt away. All his fears, all of Adam’s fears, everything melted like the snow in the spring. Adam’s heartbeat under his ear filled Tom’s heart with more warmth than his puny little fire ever could. 

“I wish I could do this forever,” Adam whispered, and Tom looked up, his heart filling with a giddy happiness when he saw the truth in Adam’s eyes. Rather than risk his voice cracking on the words, Tom stood on his toes, tilting his lips up to meet Adam’s.

Little did Tom know this would be the last moment of peace he would ever experience.

_Crash!_

Tom and Adam broke apart with startled cries, eyes wide in horror as Tom’s door splintered at the knob, exploding inwards under the force of the soldier’s boot. “YOU TWO! HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!” a man shouted harshly, he and four others pointing their guns at them.

Tom stepped forward quickly, hands up. “How dare you enter a soldier’s home like-“ He was silenced as the man raised his pistol into Tom’s face, earning a pained sound from Adam behind him.

“Explain what a soldier is doing harboring a _Jew_ outside past curfew!” he sneered, nodding at the coat that had been picked up by one of the men. Tom felt his heart drop when he saw the tell-tale yellow star hanging openly on the lapel.

Tom cast around for any explanation. “I- he- we grew up together and he couldn’t get home by curfew so I was letting him stay-“

“LIES!” the man cried, striking Tom across the face. “We received report of a Jew outside past curfew coming away from their neighborhood.” He sneered. “To your home.” Tom swallowed hard, feeling the sting of his cut lip as he stood at attention. “You have no explanation for a filthy Jew in your home?” he asked, stepping closer. “You were standing awfully close,” he whispered and Tom froze.

“I- I forced him to come into my home,” he said quickly, casting for any explanation that would free Adam. He knew he was done for. He just wanted to find any way to protect Adam. “I told him I would kill him if he didn’t leave his home past curfew and come to me. It wasn’t his fault. It was all my fault. I take one hundred percent of the blame,” he babbled, swallowing hard.

The man chuckled darkly. “Well that was your mistake, then.” He nodded to the man who had seized Adam. “You know what happens to Jews caught out past curfew,” he said simply as he turned on his heel.

Tom gasped, crying out when the man began dragging Adam towards the door. “NO!” He was seized by two men as he watched in horror while Adam was dragged out.

“TOM! Tom no!” Adam cried, panicked eyes turned to him as he reached towards him.

“ADAM!” Tom screamed, fighting against his captors, tears spilling down his cheeks when Adam was dragged outside into the street. “ADAM NO! Let him go, let him go! He didn’t DO anything!” he screamed, kicking and flailing hard, breaking free momentarily as he heard Adam’s screams. “ADAM!” he cried, only to be caught when a man rushed from the doorway and grabbed him around the middle, shoulder pressing against his chest. “ADA-“

Tom’s cry was cut off by the loud crack of a gunfire and the screams from outside instantly fell silent. Tom let out a scream and his strength gave out as he fell to the floor, landing hard on his knees as he stared at the door in horror, tears streaming down his face. “No,” he sobbed, reaching out a hand towards the door. “No, no, no-“

“Tommy?!” a voice from a distance called, and everything began to blur.

~

“TOMMY?!” Adam shook Tommy, trying to wake him. “Tommy are you hurt?” he asked fervently.

“Nein, nein, nein,” Tommy mumbled over and over.

Adam frowned. “Nine what? Tommy, what are you talking about?” he asked, shaking him again.

Tommy jerked awake with a cry. “NEIN!”

Adam frowned. “Wait, do you mean ‘nine’ the number or are you speaking in German?” he asked suspiciously, settling back on his heels as Tommy looked around frantically. “Hey, hey, you’re okay,” he said, touching his arm.

Tommy’s eyes cleared some and he looked at Adam, gasping. “Adam!” He threw his arms around Adam’s neck, hugging him. “Oh God, Adam,” he breathed, nearly choking him with the strength of his hug.

Adam wormed out of his hold and gave him a look. “Uh, Tommy what the hell?” 

Tommy looked down at the open watch in his hand then turned to the box. “Jesus, I think I must’ve got hit in the head or something,” he said, shaking his head. “I had the weirdest dream or hallucination or something.”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “Isaac couldn’t find you so we all went looking. I worried you’d gotten hurt. Although, I didn’t think I’d find you speaking in German or whatever you were doing.”

Tommy frowned. “I don’t speak German though.” He looked down at the watch, the dropped it suddenly. “Adam, that was the worst dream ever,” he said, looking back, only to see Adam looking at the box.

“What are these?” Adam asked, reaching out to grab one. “Huh, cool,” he said, looking for the clasp.

Tommy had a bad feeling, but he didn’t manage to stop Adam opening the watch before it was too late. “Adam?!” Tommy cried as Adam immediately slumped to the floor, eyes rolling back. “ADAM?!” 

~

**_Kingdom of Mercia: 655AD_ **

Adam smiled as he spotted Thomas at the baker’s stall. He detoured quickly over to the woman selling flowers and offered her a coin in exchange for a beautiful purple flower. He walked between two carts and thrust the flower in front of Thomas as he snuck up behind him. “It’s a nice day, isn’t it?” 

Thomas jumped, then turned to glare up at him. “Adam! You nearly scared me to death!” He turned and finished paying for his loaves before he allowed Adam to hand him the flower. He looked between the flower and Adam’s wide blue eyes and smiled. “Thank you,” he said, tucking the flower into his tunic so that it rested against his chest. “What are you doing down in town? I thought you had training today?” he asked as they fell into step.

Adam took Thomas’s basket from him and smirked when Thomas gave him a stern look. “We finished early. The Prince’s horse was ill and he had to go speak to the horse master so he released us. I thought I’d come look for you.”

Thomas smiled bashfully. “I’m glad to see you, but I’m working. I have to take those to the princess since the kitchens ran out of the bread she likes best. I only have enough time to walk back straight to work,” he said apologetically.

Adam shrugged, his chainmail shifting. “No matter. I’ll walk you back to the castle then,” he replied with an eager smile. “I enjoy your company.”

Thomas gave him a bright smile. “Thank you,” he said, knocking their arms together.

Adam frowned. “For what? I’m just walking with you to the castle-“

“For enjoying my company,” Thomas said in a small voice. “There aren’t many people who like me at the castle,” he admitted. “They think I’m too loud and sort of clumsy-“

“You aren’t that clumsy!” Adam defended. “And tell me who, I’ll challenge whoever called you ‘too loud’ to a duel,” he offered and Thomas laughed.

“Adam, you can’t run to my rescue. I’m a serving boy, not a damsel in distress!” he joked. “It’s alright. I just don’t fit in much. It’s not so bad though,” he said with a little skip to his step. “It’s a good job. I’m not tending cows or working in the fields back home, and I make enough money to send some home to my mother when I have extra.” He blushed. “And I got to come where you are, so I’m not alone,” he all but whispered.

Adam bit back a bright smile, ducking his head. “I am glad you came here, too. I like the other knights, but they aren’t the same. I didn’t grow up with them.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “If anybody knew your best friend was a peasant, what would they think?”

Adam huffed. “Damn what they think. You’re more decent and honest than anybody I know, Thomas.” He nudged him. “I wouldn’t have you as a best friend if you weren’t the best choice.”

Thomas remained silent until they reached the courtyard and stopped at the castle steps. “Thank you for carrying my basket,” he said almost shyly. “And thank you for the flower.”

Adam gave him a sweet, tiny smile as he handed over the basket. “Best not keep the princess waiting,” he said and Thomas nodded.

“I’ll see you later?” he asked and Adam nodded an affirmative.

“Of course.” He watched as Thomas waved and jogged off up the stairs, watching until he disappeared inside the castle before turning to head back down towards the training field to see if the others were still making wagers. He could use some extra money after how many flowers he had bought for Thomas in the last few weeks.

~

Adam smiled and tossed the rest of his uneaten apple as he caught sight of Thomas leaving the castle on his way back. “Thomas!” he called, running to catch up with him.

Thomas looked up and smiled. “Hello, why are you out so late?”

Adam shrugged. “Headed back to the castle is all.” He fell into step with him. “Let me walk you home?” he asked and Thomas gave him a stern look.

“Shouldn’t you go to the castle? The opposite of away from it, which is where I’m going,” he pointed out.

Adam waved a hand. “It’s not that late. I can walk you home and be back within plenty of time.” He looked up at the sky as they passed under the castle walls. “The stars are pretty tonight,” he said conversationally.

Thomas looked up and sighed. “They are,” he said, glancing over at Adam. “Tell me,” he said seriously. “Why are you walking me home? Is it because I’m small?” he challenged with annoyance in his eyes.

Adam shook his head. “No, I just like being with you,” he said softly, giving him an open, honest look. “I like any chance to see you even for a little while.”

Thomas blushed slightly. “Oh,” he said, looking down. “I just… lately it feels like I’m taking up so much of your time. You keep showing up just to walk me to the castle or back from the castle. You show up all the time just to accompany me when I run chores. I don’t want you to get in trouble,” he said gently.

Adam shook his head. “I won’t. It’s my free time to spend with whomever I like,” he said firmly, shoulders back. “If I want to use my free time watching you carrying things around the castle, I shall.” He paused. “Unless… do you not like me following you around?” he asked nervously.

Thomas shook his head. “Adam, no. I like it,” he reassured. “I like being with you too.” He hesitated. “But… you should probably not spend so much time being seen with a serving boy. People will talk.” He looked down. “You’re ‘Sir Adam, Knight of Mercia’. The only reason knights are found spending time with servants is in broom cupboards, not walking around and being friends with a serving boy like me.”

Adam sighed. “Thomas, you’ve been my best friend since we were children. I don’t care what people say about me.” He curled his fingers around Thomas’s elbow, attracting his attention. “I only care about you.”

Thomas looked up into his eyes, pausing. “I only care about you too, Adam. And what people say could mean a lot to a knight. People won’t care to find out that you spent your childhood in the village with farm boys, they’ll only care about the fact you’re seen going all over town and all through the castle with a serving boy.” He started walking again, leaving Adam to catch up. “Especially a boy. That’s definitely not what the other knights need to think about you,” he said, blushing as he looked down at his feet on the cobbled street.

As they stepped out of the street towards Thomas’s small house, Adam hesitated while Thomas walked to the door. “But what if they aren’t wrong?” he said in a nervous tone.

Thomas turned back, frowning. “But… that’s… don’t be ridiculous, Adam-“

“Thomas,” Adam moaned, voice tight and pained as he reached for Thomas’s hand. “I always want to be with you,” he said carefully, pulling Thomas’s hand to his chest, holding his palm flat against the chainmail over his heart. “For so long, you are what I’ve cared most for in the world.”

Thomas swallowed, eyes wide as he looked up at Adam. “Adam I- we can’t-“ He gasped, eyes fluttering shut when Adam raised his free hand and touched his cheek. “Adam.”

Adam leaned closer. “You are my best friend. You matter more than any ‘talk’-“

Adam’s proclamation was interrupted by a loud crash and screams down the street. He and Thomas both looked at each other then dashed out into the street. They saw the very edges of the far wall and they both gasped when they saw glowing dots flying through the air towards the guards who were running along the parapet. Adam saw a house alight near the end of the row and people running towards them screaming. “Saxons!” he cried, turning to grab Thomas by his shoulders. 

“Adam!” Thomas cried, fear in his eyes, clutching at Adam’s wrists.

“Run through the town, wake everyone you can and get to the castle!” he commanded. He glanced up at the flaming arrows raining over the gate and turned back to Thomas, taking in his features in case he should die trying to help the guards before the rest of the knights arrived. “In case I die,” he breathed before leaning in, pressing a quick kiss to Thomas’s lips.

Thomas followed him when he pulled back, eyes flying open with fear and worry in them. “Adam, you can’t possibly-“

“I’m a knight, I have to help stop them at the gate,” he said, then turned and pushed Thomas towards the castle. “Run! Wake the town as best you can but GET TO THE CASTLE!” he cried, and Thomas hesitated, staring. “GO!” he shouted and Thomas nodded, turning on his heel to run, shouting that they were under attack as he knocked on every door along the way. Adam turned back and drew his sword, holding it at his side as he dodged fleeing people on his way to the gates.

~

It was dawn before the Saxons were defeated. Adam winced with every step, dragging his sword with his right hand and holding the cut to his side with his left. Adam watched as some of his fellow knights- whose arrival and front at the gate had both helped fight the Saxons back and hindered protecting the people in the town from the Saxons who had made it past them- helping gather wounded and dead to carry to the castle courtyard. He looked towards the castle gates as motivation to make it up the street to the castle itself when he needed motivation to continue across the courtyard. He knew Thomas would be helping with the injured citizens on the castle steps and that he would help him with his wound. His eyes trailed through the bodies lying in rows waiting to be covered in cloths, his stomach roiling at how many citizens had been killed in spite of their best efforts to stop the Saxons. He counted at least thirty before a flash of blonde hair caught his eye.

He looked up, only to stumble to a halt, blood leaving his face when he saw a boy with blonde hair being laid at the end of the row of dead. “It can’t be,” he whispered to himself, limping faster down the row, horror mounting as he recognized the tunic. “No, no it can’t be,” he choked out, limping the last few feet only to drop to his knees in horror when he saw the boy’s face.

“Thomas?!” he wailed, looking up with horror-stricken eyes at the knight who had laid him there. The knight looked at Adam, then at Thomas, and understanding crossed his features.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, eyes meeting Adam’s. “The woman he saved said he was run through, there was nothing to be done,” he said and Adam shook his head, crawling closer shakily.

“No, no it can’t-“ He let out a choked sound as he touched Thomas’s cheek, finding it cool. “No, Thomas!” he cried, not caring for the pain in his ribs as he let out a wail. “THOMAS!”

“Adam?!”

~

“THOMAS NO!”

Tommy shook Adam harder. “Adam wake up! Adam it isn’t real!” he said louder, cringing before he slapped Adam lightly, startling him awake. Adam sat up, shoulders heaving. “You’re okay, you’re okay, it isn’t real-“

Adam stared at him with wide, tear-filled eyes before his breathing slowed some and he looked around. “Oh God, oh God what the fuck?!” he demanded, then reached out, yanking Tommy into a hug. “Jesus fuck what the hell?!” 

Tommy patted his back. “Choking me,” he said, and Adam let go with a gasp.

“Shit, I’m sorry, baby!” He patted his shoulder. “Sorry, just… Jesus, thank God this is real,” he said, touching himself then Tommy to be sure they were solid. “What was that?” he asked, putting his elbows on his knees with a groan.

Tommy sat back on his knees and shook his head. “The hell if I know, man,” he said, looking at the watch Adam dropped. “Did… did you see Nazis, too?”

Adam looked up, eyebrow raised. “Nazis? What- no way,” he said, then laughed. “Why would you guess Nazis…” He trailed off seeing the spooked look on Tommy’s face and paled. “Oh honey, did you-“

Tommy nodded. “Yeah, it was… God it sucked,” he said, shuddering. “I was a Nazi soldier, but like, I had been drafted so I wasn’t a real one, and I guess there was a curfew for Jews or something? I don’t know, but you came to my house and then later we were-“ He ducked his head. “We were hanging and stuff and they broke down my door and like… dragged you outside and killed you,” he said weakly. “It was so real. It was just-“ He shook his head, rubbing at his eyes. “It was horrible,” he said with a weak chuckle.

Adam frowned. “You didn’t know there was a curfew for Jews during…” He looked up. “Wait, you were shouting in German when I found you. You don’t know German either,” he said with suspicion in his eyes. “That’s kinda freaky.”

Tommy hesitated, more than a little freaked himself. “Well then, what was yours about if not Nazis?” he asked.

Adam groaned, shaking his head. “It was so fucked. Okay so I was this knight, right?” he started and Tommy snickered. “Shut up, I was this knight and I had chain mail and a sword and everything and sometimes I had armor, but like, I didn’t actually see that part. It was weird, I only saw the parts where I was with you, really. But I knew the rest was there, it was so fucked. But anyways,” he started. “I was a knight and you were a servant for the princess I think. And I was nobility cause I was a knight but we had grown up in the same village and when I was sent to the castle to be a knight, you came and got a job and a house and stuff since we were BFFs and-“ He hesitated, blushing slightly. “Well, I walked you to the castle and then that night I walked you to your house cause I missed you or something and then while we were at your house, the city got attacked by some bad guys and I ran to fight them and then there was a battle, but I didn’t really SEE the battle, only the part where I knew there was a battle. And afterwards, I was hurt and I headed up to the castle to find you so you could patch me up, but when I got there…” he trailed off and Tommy swallowed hard.

“I was dead, wasn’t I?” he asked and Adam nodded. “Fuck me, what are these?” he asked, looking at the watch he had opened then the one Adam had opened. “You don’t think these are like… full of hallucinogenic dust?”

Adam shook his head. “Dude no, nothing I know of gives you realistic dreams. Usually it’s like giant spiders or the floor turning into a tub of Jello,” he said. “This is like… dream inducing or something. Very vivid dreams. I could feel the wound in my side. I could feel-“ He stopped, and cleared his throat. “Okay so this may sound weird, but I was kind of stupidly in love with ‘Thomas’ in my dream,” he admitted. “And I kissed him and I could feel it. It felt _just like_ kissing you, it was that vivid.”

Tommy laughed awkwardly, looking down. “Yeah, uh… so about that-“

Adam raised an eyebrow. “Exactly why was your ‘Adam’ at the Nazi’s house?” he asked and Tommy chuckled.

“Yeah, we were lovers, I think. We were worried because I was getting moved to some barracks and you wouldn’t be able to come see me but if you were outside past curfew, you would get shot… only somebody saw you and we were dancing with each other when they busted in and killed you.” He nodded. “And it was vivid, too. I could feel your chest under my cheek when we were dancing. I mean, I could feel your _heartbeat_ so it was seriously vivid.”

Adam shook his head. “What is going on? I mean… what are the chances we’d both have similar nightmares?” he asked. He looked at the box and saw there were three watches in it still. “Let’s open another,” he said quickly.

Tommy gave him a flat look. “Yes, because I totally want to risk watching my best friend get _murdered by Nazis_ again!”

Adam waved a hand. “I don’t really dig watching you lying dead either, but really, what are the chances it’ll happen again? Maybe this one will be less ‘death’ filled.” He picked up one and handed it to Tommy. “You open it.”

Tommy glowered. “Why me?” he demanded and Adam shrugged.

“I just went. Your turn now.” He batted his eyelashes. “Please? I want to know what it does.”

Tommy huffed. “I hate you,” he said firmly, before looking at the watch. “I am only doing this because it cannot actually happen again. No way,” he said, then flicked the latch. “No- ugh.” Tommy slumped over, startling Adam, who hadn’t really expected it to work.

“Oh shit!”

~

**_Memphis, Egypt: 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom 2564BC_ **

Addaya laughed as he ran into his chambers, ducking behind a column so that just as Thotmes ran in he had just enough time to pounce. Thotmes squawked indignantly as he was tackled onto the bed, giggling when Addaya pinned him and grinned. “Ha! I still win.”

Thotmes sighed and huffed as he tried to wiggle free of the hold on his arms. “You are a cheater,” he complained, though his complaints turned into a hum of pleasure when Addaya ducked down to kiss him. “Not that I’m unhappy with our current position,” Thotmes added, grinning up at his lover.

Addaya grabbed Thotmes’s waist and rolled over, pulling the smaller man on top of him. “You make it too easy,” he teased, curling his hands around Thotmes’s small waist.

Thotmes huffed, blowing his hair from his eyes. “You’re too tall, it’s not an even race with legs so long,” he argued, propping up with his forearms on Addaya’s chest to look down at him. “You always beat me, it’s not very fun,” he grumbled, though the sparkle in his eye told otherwise.

Addaya chuckled and raised a hand to brush the backs of his knuckles against Thotmes’s cheek. “And is it not very fun when I kiss your disappointment better?” he challenged, positively gleeful when a blush kissed Thotmes’s fair cheeks. “Aha, you aren’t unhappy to lose.”

“Fine, but only because you always give me kisses for losing,” he countered, leaning down to kiss him sweetly before crawling off of Addaya, standing from the bed to walk to the gilded mirror and dressing table. He sat and removed his arm cuffs, his necklaces, his earrings, and rings with care. 

Addaya watched from his spot lying on the bed as Thotmes cleaned the kohl from his eyes and the paint from his lips. “You are just as gorgeous out of your jewels and paint,” he said softly, earning a faint blush across Thotmes’s cheeks.

Thotmes stood when he finished and undid the belt around his waist, removing his soft linen cloth to lay out to have laundered. “You’re quite beautiful too,” he said, tugging Addaya upright. “Come,” he said, gazing into Addaya’s eyes as he pulled him to the dressing table. He pushed Addaya down onto the seat and settled on his lap, using a rag to clean the kohl and paint from Addaya’s face as well. He took off all of Addaya’s jewels and his head cloth, laying them all aside in neat lines on the table. Addaya sat still, breathing calmly as he allowed Thotmes to perform such an innocent yet intimate act of undressing him. When Thotmes stood, Addaya stood as well, hands at his sides as Thotmes undressed him. However, as soon as Thotmes folded Addaya’s fine linen, Addaya grinned and scooped him up, earning a cry. “ADDAYA!” he screamed, giggling as he was carried to the bed. “You’re supposed to be resting tonight, no funny business,” he squealed, laughing as Addaya fell onto the bed backwards so that Thotmes landed on top of him.

“Because you’re too cute when you do that,” Addaya said, sliding his fingers into Thotmes’s hair. “Stay with me?” he asked softly, leaning up to kiss him.

Thotmes hummed. “We can’t, you need to sleep tonight-“

Addaya shook his head. “Just sleep, that’s all I want,” he said, giving Thotmes a gentle smile. “After tomorrow, there will be plenty of time for more,” he said with a smirk, sliding a hand over Thotmes’s bare body.

Thotmes snickered. “Alright, but only because I can make sure you eat what you’re supposed to tomorrow morning and help you dress.” He kissed Addaya, shifting to lie beside him. “It’s going to be a big day.”

Addaya nodded, smiling almost nervously. “The Pharaoh has never had me sing in front of a delegation like this,” he said and Thotmes grinned, laying his head on Addaya’s shoulder.

“You have the most beautiful voice of all the musicians. Of course Pharaoh wants you to sing for the visitors. He’s proud of his musicians and you are the one with the most beautiful voice and face.” He smirked. “These men will be jealous of Pharaoh for his luck.”

Addaya curled onto his side, pulling Thotmes close enough that their legs tangled. “We are all very talented. Pharaoh’s court has the best court musicians in all of Egypt. We are the envy of all.”

Thotmes grinned and snuggled closer. “Yes, but you are the centerpiece of the collection. I’m so proud of you.”

Addaya hummed tiredly, hugging him. “Thank you,” he said. Together they fell asleep, bodies intertwined as if they were made to fit together.

~

Thotmes took care as he painted Addaya’s eyes, drawing the Pharaoh’s seal up to his hairline, the way they all wore their paint for official dinners. Rather than their plain cloths, they wore golden cloths and jeweled belts. They shared one last kiss for the day before painting their lips. When they gathered with the other musicians, the Pharaoh himself nodded and smiled to them on his way past into the dining chamber, eliciting excited whispers amongst them.

Addaya gave a panicked look to Thotmes, who just squeezed his hand. “You will be the jewel of his kingdom tonight,” Thotmes promised, and Addaya nodded, smiling nervously.

“Thank you,” Addaya whispered with a gentle smile. 

When they entered the chamber, they immediately went to the small dais in the corner where their instruments waited. When the Pharaoh ordered them to begin, Thotmes noted the various gasps and glances from the visiting dignitaries as Addaya sang a song for them. They continued to play and Addaya sing for quite some time into the meal before they were given a small break while the Pharaoh held a discussion with the entire table. 

The Pharoah allowed the dignitaries a moment to stand and talk amongst themselves between courses and one of them, a man with dark skin, came over to where Addaya was standing and began to speak to him. Thotmes smiled, happy to see one of the dignitaries was so impressed he broke the social norms to speak to Addaya. The Pharaoh was watching from across the room looking very smug. He called out to the man. 

“I see you have taken interest in my singer?” he asked, coming over. Addaya looked nervous but excited to be approached by Pharaoh himself. “He is very talented, isn’t he?”

“Oh yes,” the man said. “You must feel very fortunate to have such talent in your court.”

Pharaoh nodded. “He is most definitely the jewel of my musical collection.” He patted the man’s shoulder. “Come, let us continue our talk.” As soon as the Pharaoh and his guest walked back towards the table, Addaya turned to Thotmes with a bright smile that Thotmes returned just as strongly.

Before the dignitaries began their next course a servant brought Addaya his usual goblet of wine. He needed something to drink before singing again to preserve his voice. Thotmes was tuning his lute with the woman beside him when he heard a clatter to their right and someone scream. He turned only to gasp when he saw Addaya had fallen to the ground, goblet lying spilled across the floor next to him. “ADDAYA!” he cried, rushing over as the serving girl who screamed rushed over as well, hands on her mouth. Thotmes knelt and pushed Addaya onto his back, gasping as he saw the panic in Addaya’s eyes as he struggled to breath.

“Thot- Thotmes-“ He struggled to speak but Thotmes put a hand on his mouth.

“Shhh, don’t speak. What happened?”

The serving girl picked up the goblet and sniffed it, jerking back. “The wine! It was poisoned!” she cried, looking towards the table.

The Pharaoh stood abruptly. “Who gave him that wine?” he demanded.

A serving boy was dragged into the room by the guards. “This one says his master gave it to him to take to the singer.”

Thotmes looked up in shock as three more guards seized the dark skinned man who had spoken to Addaya before. He watched as the Pharaoh’s guards quickly upended all of the wine pitchers near the Pharoah and dragged the dignitary away. The Pharaoh looked to where Addaya lay on the ground gasping for breath and turned to follow the guards.

“Should my prized singer die, you will regret it,” he swore to the man, nodding to the guard near him. “Have a physician see to my singer.”

Thotmes was pushed aside as two guards lifted Addaya and carried him from the room. Thotmes wasted no time, rushing out after them. Nobody cared much for the small man following them when they were under orders from the Pharaoh. They took him to the physician’s chambers and laid him on a table as the old, wizened man came over with a book in his hands. “What seems to be the problem?”

“His wine was poisoned,” Thotmes said, taking Addaya’s hand in his, watching with horror in his heart as his lover struggled to breathe.

The serving girl appeared with the empty goblet. The physician took a sniff of it and then held it away in surprise. “Oh no,” he said and Thotmes looked up fearfully. “I fear there isn’t much to do,” he said solemnly. “We can try to help him but I fear it won’t help.” 

Thotmes turned back to Addaya, leaning over him. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered, stroking Addaya’s hair back.

“Thotmes,” Addaya wheezed, eyes wide with fear as tears dripped from the corners of his eyes. “Hurts,” he breathed.

Thotmes sniffled and nodded. “I’m sorry. The physician is going to help with that. I promise.” He kissed his forehead. “You’ll be okay. You have to be.” Addaya nodded weakly, squeezing Thotmes’s hand in his. 

~

Thotmes sat stiffly, still stroking Addaya’s hair back even after the hours had passed. The physician had given Addaya something to ease the pain in a hopeful attempt to help him breathe better. His breathing had eased some, but he was still struggling with it. Thotmes sat with him while he fought to stay alive, whispering things to him. The physician had given them some privacy and Thotmes didn’t know if he was kind or just didn’t want to be there to watch Thotmes’s silent tears. “Do you know how beautifully you sang tonight?” he said, earning a small upturn of Addaya’s lips. “You were beautiful. You’re always beautiful,” he admitted, kissing his temple. “I can’t lose you, you’re going to be okay,” he whimpered, stroking Addaya’s hair back.

Addaya looked up, blue eyes clear and focused for once. “Love you,” he croaked, raising a shaky hand to curl around Thotmes’s neck. “Love.”

Thotmes let out a weak sob, a giant smile mixing with his tears. “And I love you, Addaya.” He leaned down, pressing their noses together. “I’m here, I’m right here.”

Addaya took a rattling breath and his body seized, his eyes widening, pupils dilating. “Thot- Thotmes!” His breaths began to sound wetter and more labored. The Physician rushed over, looking through his bottles of potions before coming close with one. “No-“ Addaya shook his head. “Can’t sleep-“

Thotmes saw the solemn shake of his head the Physician gave and Thotmes let out a weak sob. “Let him give you this. Just sleep, okay?” He sniffed and kissed Addaya’s lips gently. “I’ll be right here when you wake up, okay?”

“Don’t- Don’t go,” Addaya managed, though his body was shaking as he fought to breath.

“Shhhh,” Thotmes whispered, pulling him up slightly so that he could drink the draught. “Here, I’ll be right here. I’ll stay here.” He kissed his forehead. “I love you, I won’t go anywhere. Just rest for a little while.”

Addaya nodded shakily. “Li-little while,” he agreed. He drank the sleeping draught and relaxed back, head on Thotmes’s leg as he perched on the table next to Addaya. He smiled up at Thotmes. “Later?”

Thotmes nodded, fighting back a sob. “I’ll be here until you wake up.” As Addaya’s eyes slid shut, Thotmes curled over his head, kissing his hair. “How long?” he asked the Physician.

The Physician gave him a solemn smile. “Not long. He will feel no more pain now.”

Thotmes nodded and let out a weak sob, clutching Addaya. He held him, stroking his hair and kissing his fevered skin until at last the struggling breaths stopped. Thotmes laid Addaya’s head down on the table and let out a strangled sob as he put a hand on his chest and felt no heartbeat. He turned and pulled his knees up, looking down at his unmoving, yet still beautiful Addaya as his heart shattered.

~

This time when Tommy woke up, it wasn’t to Adam shaking him. Adam was simply watching him with worry in his eyes. Tommy rolled over and groaned, rubbing his eyes, not at all surprised his face was wet. “That was so not cool.”

Adam cringed. “Death? I figured two had to be a limit there.”

Tommy sat up and huffed. “This one was probably even worse,” he said, crawling over to lean against Adam, feeling exhausted just from dream. “This time you got poisoned and I had to sit there at your side and watch you die slowly.”

Adam cringed. “Wow, that sucks. Were we lovers in this one too?”

Tommy giggled slightly, nodding against Adam’s shoulder. “Yep. Ancient Egypt. We were court musicians for the Pharaoh. You were his prized singer and a rival poisoned you because apparently musicians were a thing to be very proud of and nothing was a bigger insult than killing the best singer in all of Egypt.”

Adam chuckled. “Well at least I was appreciated for something while I was alive.” He sighed. “Okay, how about we stop this-“

Tommy sat up, glaring. “Oh hell no! I did two, you’re doing two!” He crawled over and grabbed the box, shoving it between them as he sat facing Adam. “Pick one.”

“But Tommy, I don’t want to see you die again-“

“Tough titty, you made me do two, you do two!” Tommy argued. “Trust me, NOTHING can be worse than what I just went through.”

Adam sighed but nodded. “Alright, I’ll do a second. Who knows, maybe you won’t die this time?”

Tommy just shoved the box at him wordlessly. Adam picked up one of the watches and blew off the dust, cringing before opening the latch. 

~

_**Andover, Massachusetts: 1692** _

Thomas grinned as he waited until Adam walked directly beneath the tree he was lounging in before dropping a handful of leaves all over him. He laughed so hard at Adam’s squawks and flails that he fell from his perch, landing in a pile of hay with a cry of alarm. Adam laughed at his flailing as he rolled out of the pile and landed at his feet. “Very funny, Thomas,” Adam said flatly.

Thomas stood up, grinning madly - a look made more possible by the amount of hay in his hair - at the taller man. “It was funny! You scream like a girl,” he teased, looking both ways on the path before grabbing Adam’s hand. “Come.” He tugged at Adam’s hand until Adam broke into a jog to keep up. 

“Thomas? Thomas, where are we going?” Adam asked, rolling his eyes when Thomas didn’t reply. They ran across the bridge that spanned the creek running through the middle of Thomas’s father’s farm and Adam laughed when Thomas nearly slipped on the wet wood. “Thomas, slow down, you’ll fall!”

“You’re just too slow to catch me!” Thomas called back, dropping Adam’s hand to break into a real run. Adam laughed out and gave chase, knowing his longer legs would make it easy to catch him. He chased Thomas up the path to the barn, surprised when Thomas veered into the barn rather than around it. 

“Thomas, I-“ He slowed as he ran inside and found the three horses the only animals inside. “Thomas?” He walked further into the barn, only to cry out in surprise when Thomas jumped out from a pile of hay and shouted at him.

“HA!” Thomas doubled over. “You did it again!”

Adam sighed, shaking his head in mock solemnity. “You are a child.”

Thomas stood up and walked over, rolling his eyes. “I am not. I just like having fun.” He poked him in the side. “You should smile more. It makes you even more beautiful,” he said and Adam felt his ears burn as he ducked his head. Thomas looked proud of himself for Adam’s blush. 

“Thomas, you should not say things like that, your father could walk in any minute,” Adam hissed, looking at the barn doors fearfully.

Thomas smirked up at him as he caught his hands. “My father is in town, the only ones here are the pigs and horses.” He tugged his hands as he backed towards the ladder leading up to the hay loft. “Come up,” he said softly, giving Adam an alluring smile before turning to start up the ladder. Adam looked back at the doors, hesitating only a moment before shifting his satchel over his head and starting up the ladder.

“I can’t be late for supper, my mother will have my head,” Adam said as he crawled towards the back of the loft to where Thomas was lounging on one of the horse blankets. He took his satchel off and set it down.

Thomas reached out and opened it, pulling one of the books out, flipping it open on his knee in the dimness. “You and your books.”

Adam shrugged awkwardly. “Father wants me to be a member of the council someday, not a teacher’s apprentice.”

Thomas snorted. “Mother still wants me to become a minster. She says church hasn’t helped my temper so joining the clergy will.” He tossed the book aside and gave Adam a devious look. “Oh if only she knew,” he drawled, before closing the small distance to press a gentle kiss to Adam’s cheek.

Adam’s cheeks burned and he smiled. “I’m pretty sure we would be flogged and disowned if your mother knew,” he said, sliding his hand into Thomas’s. “I worry,” he began, only to stop. “No matter.”

Thomas frowned. “What?” He pulled Adam’s hand into his lap, stroking his fingertips soothingly along the soft back of Adam’s larger hand. “No one has any reason to suspect us.”

Adam looked up, worry etched into his furrowed brow. “Not that.” He looked down. “Father… he wants me to marry Anne Bishop.” He shrugged weakly. “He keeps urging me to spend time with her. He says I am becoming too old to be unmarried. After my brother married last spring, my prospects for marriage are all he and Mother speak of.”

Thomas’s stomach clenched. “How long do you think you can stall?” he asked weakly.

Adam sighed, leaning closer so that his head rested against Thomas’s. “As long as I have to,” he promised and Thomas shook his head, pulling away.

“Adam, I told you we would not be able to hide for very long.” He looked up. “You avoid it every time I ask, but how long do you really think we have before we must run away?”

Adam shook his head. “Thomas, I can’t-“

“Then you will have to marry Anne Bishop and leave me alone!” Thomas cried. “Adam, sooner or later we have to leave, you know this. You knew this as soon as we discovered a few kisses down by the river was not all that there is between us.”

Adam shushed him. “Lower your voice,” he urged, then pulled Thomas’s hands to his lips, kissing his knuckles. “I know.” He swallowed and nodded. “I know, Thomas.” He looked down. “Next spring,” he said, looking up. “My father and mother can be held at bay until then at least. I can do some extra work helping the wood cutters this fall and get some money saved before we leave.”

Thomas gave him a somewhat relieved look. “And I can begin talking about finding work at the sea port so that my parents are not surprised when I begin practicing cooking and mending so that we won’t be hungry and cold before we become settled.”

Adam smiled a nervous but excited smile and nodded. “Spring, then?”

Thomas laughed softly. “Yes, spring.” He leaned close and pressed a small kiss to Adam’s lips. “I love you.”

Adam smiled and gave Thomas a kiss, one that lingered, as he slid his hands to cup Thomas’s face. “And I you,” he whispered against his lips. He pulled back a fraction to look at Thomas’s beautiful, youthful face. He stroked his fingertips from Thomas’s hairline to his jaw tenderly, smiling when Thomas’s eyes fluttered shut, his long, thick lashes kissing his pale cheeks. “My beautiful beloved,” he whispered and Thomas smiled, tugging Adam into another kiss by a hand on his neck.

“Show me,” he demanded, shifting from his position with his knees touching Adam’s up onto his knees, slowly moving until he was on Adam’s lap, hands resting on Adam’s chest as their kisses grew wetter and deeper. “Make me feel beautiful,” Thomas breathed, moaning softly when Adam’s lips moved along his jaw. Thomas slid his arms around Adam’s shoulders, pressing their chests flush as Adam’s lips moved to his neck. Adam undid Thomas’s collar and unlaced his shirt’s laces just enough that his lips could move to Thomas’s collar bones and sternum. “Oh Adam,” he whispered, sliding a hand into Adam’s dark, raven locks to pull him back, tilting his lips to meet in a hungry kiss.

“Your lips are positively wicked,” Adam teased as he lay Thomas back on the hay, lying beside him on one elbow so he could look down at his flushed, red-lipped lover. He closed the gap and kissed Thomas slowly, sweetly. “You look both wicked and angelic.”

Thomas giggled, cupping Adam’s jaw in his smaller, more delicate hand. “I fear an angel is no longer an angel when its innocence has been tarnished,” he teased, earning a blush across Adam’s visage.

“Then I shall go with wicked,” he said, ducking to press a tender kiss to Thomas’s half-revealed chest, just over his heart.

Thomas’s smile softened, sliding the fingers of one hand through Adam’s hair as his other hand caught Adam’s and held it over his chest. He gazed into those clear, perfect blue eyes and shook his head minutely, eyes warm and tender as they met Adam’s. “There is nothing wicked about the love we share, Adam,” he said softly. “I don’t care what the Church claims about Sin. Nothing can be more pure and innocent than the love I have for you.”

Adam’s eyes twinkled and he closed the distance, ducking down to kiss Thomas. “And I for you,” he added, content to simply look down at Thomas rather than seek a response.

The young lovers were too caught up in the depths of each other’s eyes to see the figure standing in the doorway of the barn, eyes wide and horrified at the scene up in the hay loft.

~

Adam came from his room into the kitchen where his mother was making breakfast and smiled when he saw his brother was there. “Good morning. What brings you here?” he asked, poking him in the ear as he walked to sit next to him, across from their father. “Missed your older brother?” he teased.

His teasing fell short when his brother and father both turned to him with solemn looks. “Adam, you know the Ratliff boy, right? Thomas Ratliff?” Neil asked and Adam raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, you know I do,” he said, then looked at his father. “Is something wrong? His sister isn’t unwell is she?” he asked, knowing Thomas’s sister fell ill many times in her life.

Adam’s father held up a page from his council folder. “He has been arrested.”

Adam’s heart skipped. “Arrested?! What for? Thomas has never broken the law-“

“He’s been accused of witchcraft,” Neil said, giving Adam a shifty look. “The old man that works Ratliff’s farm says Thomas has been working witchcraft-“

“That is completely false!” Adam argued vehemently. “Thomas is a good man, he would never do anything of the sort. That old man is lying-“

Neil interrupted. “The old man said he saw Thomas tricking a man into selling his soul.” He looked at his father and mother before turning to Adam, jaw clenched. “A man with hair as black as a raven.”

Adam’s blood ran cold as he heard his mother gasp and drop something and watched his father’s head snap around. “Wha-what are you saying?” he asked fearfully.

Neil clenched a fist on the table. “There aren’t many men in town with raven hair, Adam,” he said and Adam’s eyes widened.

“You think- You-“

Adam’s father stood. “You tell me now, has that Ratliff boy worked witchcraft on you?!” he roared, rage in his eyes. “If that boy worked dark magic on my son, I’ll have his head-“

“THOMAS WOULD NEVER HURT ME!” Adam cried, standing up angrily. “Thomas is my friend. Thomas is not a _witch_! That old man is lying. Thomas is the kind of boy that climbs trees and laughs too much, but he is not _evil_ ,” he spat. “There could no sooner be evil in his heart than in mine!” He looked between his brother and his father and sat down. “Now tell me everything,” he demanded.

Adam’s father bristled but sat. “He’s been arrested. They’ve got him held in the jail until the council and the Church decide how to proceed. There have been rumors of witchcraft in other places near. The council needs to send word to ask how they found out whether or not a witch is really a witch.”

Adam began to speak, only he was interrupted by a knocking at the door. Adam’s father glanced at Neil and then at their mother before standing to answer the door. He had no sooner opened the door to speak to whoever was on the other side than a man pushed past him and headed to the table, another two men behind him. “What is the meaning of this-“

Adam’s father was interrupted as the first man nodded to Adam and the other two grabbed him, dragging him up out of his chair. “Sir, your son has been named as a victim of witchcraft. We need to speak to him.”

“And you cannot do so without hauling him up and holding him in his own home?!” Neil cried, standing quickly. “My brother is not suspected of witchcraft himself-“

“No, but if he has been tricked into making deals with the Devil, he may not be of his own mind. He will be only a danger to you and your wife and to himself if he is bewitched.” He nodded to the two men. Adam shouted fearfully for his father as he was dragged away. “Don’t worry, Mr. Lambert. If your son is cursed, killing the witch should lift it,” the man said and Adam’s panic only increased.

~

Adam was taken and tossed into a dark, damp cell where he was to wait until they needed him for questioning. He was cold, afraid, and confused as he paced the cell. He began to mutter curses under his breath as the chill settled in, as he had no overcoat when he had been dragged from his home. His muttering was interrupted by a gasp seemingly from the wall to his left. 

“Adam?!” a voice called and Adam’s head snapped up, eyes landing on the small grate in the wall just above the hard stone bench built to be slept on. He saw a pair of brown eyes and two hands curled around the bars and he rushed over. 

“Thomas?!” He climbed onto the bench and touched Thomas’s hands, curling his fingers around Thomas’s. “Thomas, are you hurt?” he asked, leaning close enough to see Thomas’s face in the dark of his cell.

Thomas let out a weak sob. “Adam, they’re calling me a witch!”

Adam shushed him, stroking his fingers as best he could. “I know, they think you have bewitched me.” He leaned as close as he could, so that their faces were only separated by the bars. “Thomas, what happened?”

Thomas let his forehead clunk against the cold iron and he whimpered. “He saw us kissing. The old man, he saw me kissing a man with black hair and told in town that I had to be a witch cursing you into selling your soul. They- they dragged me out of my bed before dawn and arrested me.”

Adam swallowed hard. “My brother and father suggested it might be me you were ‘bewitching’ but something must have convinced the council because soon after they told me you were arrested for witchcraft, three men came and took me away.”

Thomas let out a choked sob. “The town knows we are friends and you are one of the few men with hair so dark.” He looked up. “Adam, I am sorry-“

“Shhhhh, no.” Adam swallowed, reaching through the bars to touch what he could of Thomas’s cheek, wiping away the tears. “Do not apologize for loving me. Please do not feel sorry for that. This is a misunderstanding. They will see I am not enchanted and they will realize the man was lying and you will be freed.”

Thomas sniffled. “Do you believe so?”

Adam nodded. “They have to. It is the truth.”

~

Thomas was placed in the criminal’s box in the council chambers and Adam was made to sit in a chair all on his own in front of the leader of the council. Men from all sides threw questions at him, demanding him to answer how they wanted him to. He tried his best to convince them the old man was lying, he tried to deny Thomas’s guilt, but it was all so confusing he wasn’t even sure what all he had said by the time the shouts and demands stopped, leaving him afraid and shaking in his chair.

“It’s clear that the boy is guilty of witchcraft,” Mr. Thompson said, pointing to Adam. “The Lambert boy is clearly suffering from bewitchment. Look at his fear! He is afraid of the witch-“

“He isn’t a witch!” Adam argued, earning many jeers.

“See! He’s too afraid to even speak out against the Ratliff boy!”

“No! Thomas is a good man, he would never hurt anyone!” Adam tried, only to have more cries and barks.

“The witch is making him tell lies, can’t you see?!” One man stood, pointing a finger at Thomas. “This boy has been a wild, loud, unruly heathen from childhood! It cannot shock any that the Devil is in this boy! He is a Devil Child stolen into the house of the Ratliff family from infancy! Evil and trickery in the form of just a boy-“

“Thomas isn’t evil!” Adam cried. “Please, believe me!”

The council leader stood up, pointing to the doors. “Take the Devil Child away so that we can speak to the Mr. Lambert without him fearing the witch’s retribution,” he ordered. “Everyone who is not in the council, leave!” he commanded. Adam watched in terror as Tommy was dragged out and all the spectators ordered out. The doors shut with an ominous bang and the fifteen members of the council, his father included, all turned to him and the old man only. “He cannot hurt you now, just tell us what he did to you.”

Adam shook his head. “Thomas is not a witch. He is not evil, he has not done anything to me-“

“You need not lie here-“

“I’M TELLING THE TRUTH!” Adam cried. “Thomas is a good man! He is not a witch, he is not at all in league with the Devil. Thomas is kind and good, he is just a man,” he defended.

The old man pointed a gnarled finger at Adam. “Do not listen to him. He is bewitched. The Devil Child has turned lies to truth in his head.”

“Adam,” Adam’s father spoke. “I know your eyes when you are lying. Look at me and tell me Thomas Ratliff is not a witch.”

Adam looked at his father pleadingly. “Thomas is _not_ a witch, Father. He is only a man and barely that! He may be loud and unusual, but that does not make him evil-“

“Mr. Lambert, Mr. Foxglove is a wise man, he has seen many more years and knows a witch far better than any of us,” Mr. Thompson interrupted. “Your son is bewitched, he does not think he is lying, he only knows what lies are in his heart.”

Adam saw his father’s lost faith and turned to glare at Mr. Foxglove. “The only thing that lies in my heart is Thomas and you are the one who is evil, you old fool,” he spat, rage rolling off of him in waves. “YOU TELL THEM THOMAS IS NOT WHAT YOU SAY!” he demanded, tears of anger and fear in his eyes. “TELL THEM!”

“It is clear that your son is bewitched,” Mr. Thompson said to Adam’s father, who looked pained at Adam’s behavior. Adam saw the resolve crumble as his father nodded in agreement. 

Mr. Foxglove spoke up. “The only way to save young Mr. Lambert is to kill the witch.”

At his announcement Adam’s heart began to pound a staccato beat that stole his breath and choked him with fear. Mr. Thompson nodded. “Yes, the witch will be hanged at sundown,” he announced, and Adam jumped up only to be grabbed by two men and held.

“NO! No, you cannot! Thomas is not a witch, it is a lie-“

“You will be well soon, Mr. Lambert-“

Adam let out a strangled sob, panicking. “HE IS LYING! HE LIES BECAUSE HE HATES US!” he shouted out. “THE OLD MAN CAUGHT US KISSING AND CALLED THOMAS A WITCH FOR IT!” 

Silence fell at Adam’s cry and he was released quickly enough that he fell to his knees and hands. He looked up at the shock and disgust on the faces of those around, only to have his heart sink when Mr. Thompson looked on him in sympathy. “My boy, can you not see? The witch has cursed you to your very heart. The boy Thomas Ratliff may have been is lost inside the demon that possesses him.” He shook his head. “Do not fear, young Mr. Lambert. You shall be freed from its hold when the witch is dead.”

“But Thomas isn’t a witch-“

“If your friend’s soul is still there,” Mr. Thompson continued, “Then it will be freed from the demon’s hold when his body dies.” He offered Adam a comforting smile. “Do you not see? If Thomas Ratliff the boy is still inside, his everlasting soul will be free and on to the gates of Heaven while the witch that holds his body will be sent back into the fiery pits of hell-“

“You monster, you want to _kill_ him!” Adam cried, letting his head drop into his hands when all he saw was sympathy in every set of eyes. “Please, he did nothing wrong.”

Adam’s father came and put a hand on his shoulder. “Do not fear, Adam. You will be free of this witch’s spells soon. You will be fine.”

Adam just curled in on himself, emptiness settling in his chest as he realized there was no way around it. Thomas was going to be hanged.

~

Adam stood at the grate, hands closed over Thomas’s on the bars again. “We were supposed to run away,” Adam whispered, voice broken.

Thomas laughed out a weak sob. “Spring,” he agreed, stroking his thumb along Adam’s knuckle. 

Adam whined in pain. “I was going to love you forever,” he choked out, swallowing back a sob as more tears slipped down his cheeks.

Thomas reached through the grate and wiped them away. “This isn’t your fault,” he soothed, sniffling as he gave Adam his best attempt at a smile. “And look, I do get to love you until my end,” he attempted to joke, but Adam just gave a weak sob.

“Thomas, I’m sorry,” he cried and Thomas shook his head, swallowing hard.

“Never apologize for loving me,” he said firmly, nodding at him. “Remember that, Adam.” He smiled sadly. “When I am long gone and you are old, remember that there was nothing too grim to stop our love.” He closed his eyes and fought back more tears. “I did not lie. Nothing is more _good_ and _pure_ than the love we share. There is no sin in that. There is no witchcraft nearly as strong as our love. Do not remember me in regret, Adam.” He looked into Adam’s eyes, giving him just as warm and tender of a gaze as any they had ever shared. “Remember how it felt to hold me in your arms and do not forget every beautiful second we shared together.”

Adam let out a broken sob, nodding as he cried. “I love you, Thomas. I will always love you. Until my last breath, I’ll love you.”

“And I you,” Thomas whispered sadly. He leaned his lips against Adam’s fingers, the only part of him he could reach to kiss. Adam rested his forehead against Thomas’s hand, closing his eyes to just listen to Thomas breathe for a moment. The moment was broken by the sound of voices and a door being opened. Adam looked up fearfully as he saw light behind Thomas.

“No,” Adam breathed, and Thomas turned his eyes to Adam’s one last time. “Thomas, no-“

“I love you, Adam Lambert.” He smiled a broken smile as tears filled his eyes. “Death is not the end. We will see each other again. I will see you again.”

Adam let out a broken sound. “Thomas-“

Thomas’s hands slid from the bars and he gave Adam a genuine smile before he was pulled away. “Goodbye.”

~

Adam gasped as he woke up, throat tight and face wet. “No, no no no,” he whimpered, rolling onto his side. “No, God.”

“Adam?” Tommy reached out and rubbed his arm. 

Adam let out a weak sob, curling his hand around Tommy’s wrist. “That was so not okay,” he whispered, looking up at him. “God, come here-“ Adam sat up and pulled Tommy into a hug, holding him. 

“Adam?” 

Adam sniffled. “Making sure you’re here,” he said, pressing his face against Tommy’s hair. “That was… horrible.” He rocked them back and forth. “What is even going on, here?” he asked.

Tommy pulled back and shrugged. “I have no fucking clue, dude.” He looked at the open watches and then at the box with one left. “Maybe these markings mean something?” he asked, pulling the wooden box over to look at the etchings.

Adam looked at it and shrugged. “I don’t recognize them,” he said. He looked at one of the already open pocket watches and touched the illegible scratches inside the cover. It looked to be a language, but Adam didn’t know which. He looked at the other watch and bit his lip. “I think they’re past lives. Memories of them.”

Tommy looked up. “What? Seriously?” he asked flatly.

Adam shrugged. “I know it isn’t your thing but… it makes more sense than drugs or something that make us see the same types of dreams.”

“You’re talking reincarnation, Adam,” Tommy pointed out. “You honestly think - even if reincarnation was real and there is something else out there - that the same two people would be reincarnated and meet each other in every life after and suffer the same damn fate every time?”

Adam shrugged. “Why not?” He held up a hand to stop Tommy. “No, listen. Think about it. In every one of these so far, it was me and it was you, no matter what.” He pointed at the box. “We may have had different names and different lives, but our personalities were the same and our faces were the same. Hell, in that one I just had, I had black hair and you blonde hair. In both of them you had blonde hair. How is it you decided to bleach your hair long before we met and I started dying my hair black instead of leaving it natural in my twenties.” He looked at Tommy. “When we met, I said hello and we automatically started having conversations and jokes and were like long-lost best friends within days of knowing each other,” he stressed. “What if this is why? What if we _are_ long-lost best friends, Tommy?

Tommy raised a challenging eyebrow. “In these dreams, we’re lovers,” he prompted. Adam looked down to hide his ears burning and Tommy snorted. “See, you can’t even look at me when you think about it-“

“Well excuse me for being embarrassed,” Adam snapped. “Look, you’re straight, maybe this reincarnation just got us wrong. Or maybe being best friends is enough without loving each other in a sexual manner-“

Tommy snorted. “Oh please, can we stop pretending we don’t both know the truth? This ‘acting like it’s totally platonic on both sides’ thing is getting old,” he said firmly, jaw clenched.

Adam’s eyes widened. “Well I-“ He cleared his throat, clearly taken aback. “I didn’t know it was obvious-“

“Oh shut up,” Tommy grumbled, cheeks darkening slightly. “Everybody with eyes knows I’m in love with you, Adam. We all just fake it to keep from fucking up the group dynamic. If it was awkward between me and you it would fuck with everybody-“

“Wait, what?!” Adam waved a hand, shaking his head. “What the hell, we all know _what_?!” Tommy raised an eyebrow and Adam opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally letting out a rushed breath. “I love you, too.”

Tommy froze. “I… what?” he asked in shock. Adam nodded, letting out a laugh. “You mean-“

“I thought you had found out I’m in love with you,” Adam finished. He smiled brightly. “So you-“

Tommy nodded. “Love you, yes. Um…” He blushed and looked away. “I thought if you found out you would hate me. I really was mostly straight before I fell for you and by the time I’d worked up the nerve to say anything, you had a boyfriend so I wasn’t going to do that. Then I just settled for what I had. I was okay being friends as long as I had you in my life.”

Adam reached out and cupped Tommy’s face in his hand. “You’re my TommyJoe, how could I ever hate you, baby?” He laughed softly. “Come on, you seriously thought anything could make me hate you? I’m friends with my exes-“

“Yeah, but they were your exes, not your straight best friend magically being in love with you, Adam,” Tommy argued weakly. “I was afraid, okay?”

Adam pulled him into a hug. “Oh TommyJoe, you never have to be afraid of me. Never, ever, ever.” He giggled softly. “God, I hate how this came out, but I feel so much better not keeping that secret anymore.”

Tommy pulled back and looked at the pocket watches. “Do you really think they’re past lives? Or memories or whatever?”

Adam winced. “Yeah, Tommy. I really do now,” he said, biting his lip. “God those poor things.”

Tommy gave him a frightened look. “You don’t- you don’t think that means-“

Adam shook his head. “No way. Look, we’re in a place and a time where nobody is going to invade us like in my first dream and nobody is going to hang you for witchcraft just because they saw us kissing-“

“Jesus, is that what happened?!” Tommy asked, eyes wide. Adam flinched, nodding. “Well… I guess you’re right,” he admitted. “It’s very unlikely you’ll ever get shot for being Jewish or poisoned to get back at the leader of our nation.”

Adam looked at the watches and shuddered. “Maybe this can be the life where they finally get to be happy?” he asked hopefully.

Tommy nodded, leaning back to look at the last unopened pocket watch. “What should we do with that?” 

Adam bit his lip, a pained look flashing across his face. “I hate to say it… but we should open it-“

“Open it?! Are you crazy?!” Tommy hissed. “This has been… just… they were all _horrific_!” he stressed.

Adam nodded. “I know, but we owe it to them.” He looked at Tommy. “They deserve to have somebody know, don’t they? I don’t know about yours, but in mine they were terrified. They were so afraid of something that should be celebrated. Love should never have to be hidden. Happiness is so beautiful.” He sighed. “Why shouldn’t we at least give them the gift of at least someone understanding how much they meant to each other?”

Tommy groaned. “It’s so bad though-“

“Yeah, and what if these _are_ past lives, Tommy?” he challenged. “If these are past lives caught in memory form then this was real life. They really suffered that. They deserve their story being told to at least someone, don’t you think?” He shook his head. “I don’t like it, but it’s right.”

Tommy chuckled weakly. “God, I hate when you make me believe you.” He bit his lip but nodded. “Okay. Should we do it together?”

“Definitely,” Adam said, nodding. “If we can, we should see it together.”

Tommy nodded. “Okay, let’s go then I want this crap over with,” he said, reaching over to grab the watch. He sat back, then looked up. “Okay, ready?” Adam nodded, looking worried as he took Tommy’s free hand in his then placed his fingers on the latch as the watch sat in Tommy’s upturned hand.

“Here goes nothing,” he said.

They opened the watch.

~

**_Pompeii: 79AD_ **

Adamus woke to the feeling of the bed shaking and Tomias jerking awake. Tomias looked around blearily and then groaned, falling back to the bed. “I cannot believe the earth’s trembling woke me. I never wake this early.”

Adamus sat up, frowning as he watched cups rattling and falling from the table. “Oh no!” He cursed and leapt up, rushing to catch the busts that usually only wobbled to stop them from falling. “Tomias, help!”

Tomias ran over to the home altar and placed his hands on the various carvings, holding them all in place. The shaking lasted longer than usual before stopping. Tomias looked around, frowning. “The earth must be unhappy this morning,” he commented and Adamus sighed, going to pick up a shattered vase in the corner.

“I thought I had everything set so that the trembling of the earth would not shake them loose,” he said, bending down to pick up the shards. 

Tomias smirked, leaning back against the column near him at the sight of Adamus’s nude backside. “I don’t know, I cannot complain from where I stand.” Adamus looked up, then rolled his eyes as he stood tall.

“You are no help,” Adamus muttered, piling the shards on the table nearest him before walking towards the chest that held his clothes.

Tomias laughed, going over to him. “Adamus, the ground quakes beneath our feet most every day, I am sorry you were not prepared, but you cannot blame me.” He curled his arms around Adamus’s middle, pressing his face into the broad shoulder blade beneath his cheek. “It was merely telling us to wake and greet the day.”

Adamus chuckled as he shook out a blue cloth. “You are in a bright mood this morning,” he commented and Tomias chuckled against his skin.

“Can you blame me?” Tomias asked, kissing his sleep-warm skin. “I awoke in your arms, did I not?”

Adamus turned and stepped back from Tomias so that he could dress himself. “Yes, but that is hardly a new thing.” He smirked. “We have woken up in each other’s beds many times,” he pointed out as he tied his belt.

Tomias glared playfully, swatting at Adamus’s chest. “We have never awoken in _our_ bed before!” He let out a heavy sigh, smiling brightly as he spun once, arms outstretched. “In _our_ home. No longer will I be leaving and not returning for days to come, I will come home every evening to _our_ supper!” He let out a bright laugh and rushed to press himself to Adamus’s chest, holding him tightly. “Today is the most beautiful day of my life!”

Adamus gave him a warm, gentle smile, eyes positively glowing in the morning sun coming in from the east. “Every day of our lives forward will be beautiful now that we are married,” Adamus said, leaning down to press a kiss to Tomias’s lips. “I must go inspect the atrium. I fear the busts near the impluvium may have fallen in that tremble.”

Tomias grinned. “Go inspect _our_ home and then return quickly. I had no plans of letting you out of bed today,” he whispered seductively, standing on his toes to steal one last kiss from his husband.

Adamus returned his smirk and gave his naked body an appraising glance over before making an impatient tone as he turned on his heel and went to see what the stronger than usual tremor had damaged. As he walked towards the atrium, Adamus reflected on the dawning of the happiest day of his life so far. 

Adamus and Tomias had met nearly a year prior when Adamus, on his way to school with his servant, witnessed a boy in the market chasing after a thief only to have the thief run into three large men and the four of them turn on the boy who was chasing him. Adamus was just near them so he and his servant ran to the aid of the boy, who had frozen in fear. When the thieves saw Adamus in his expensive garments and the servant carrying his tablets and supplies, they thought better and ran away. The boy had been shaken and nearly fainted had Adamus not caught him before he fell.

Adamus had sent his servant home and offered to walk the boy, who explained his name was Tomias, back to the stall where he and his sister sold fish for their father in the market. The moment he had looked into Tomias’s eyes, Adamus had been intrigued. He couldn’t remember ever seeing a face so beautiful. After that day he began making excuses to go with his kitchen servants to the market just so that he could speak with Tomias. Once he had established a friendship with Tomias, Adamus had begun asking Tomias to accompany him on walks just so that he could spend hours with his new friend. The first time Adamus kissed Tomias was during one of their walks through an orchard outside of the city walls. They had stopped to rest and Tomias had smiled up at Adamus so beautifully Adamus could not help ducking in to kiss him. 

After the first kiss, Adamus and Tobias began sneaking away from the city to be together without others catching them. It wasn’t until the night they had fallen asleep together and did not make it home until after nightfall that Tomias’s father caught their goodnight kiss outside of Tomias’s house. Tomias’s father had not been pleased that his only son was sneaking around with another boy, but he had approved of allowing Adamus to continue to see Tomias as long as they stopped hiding and sneaking away. Adamus knew that Tomias’s father clearly expected Adamus to leave at the thought of revealing his relationship with a poor son of a fisherman to his own father, but Adamus surprised him by agreeing. 

Adamus’s father had not been happy at all and had nearly threatened to forbid Adamus from seeing Tomias and threatened to force him to marry a girl he had been considering for Adamus. But as fate would have it, Adamus’s father fell ill and died before he could enforce his anger. Adamus became the head of the family in spite of having no wife or children, took charge of his father’s business, and immediately took no shame in publicly being seen with Tomias. He bought him clothes nearly as fine as Adamus’s, gave him beautiful jewels, and took him to places no poor boy was generally ever allowed to be. They were the talk of the town for a while, but Adamus did not care. He was in love and that was all that mattered.

However, Tomias’s father- while understanding- needed his son to make an advantageous marriage. Rather than allow Tomias to marry and be his lover and share Tomias with a wife, Adamus did something that, while not unheard of, was rare: he asked Tomias to marry him. Tomias’s father could not find fault with his son marrying into a very wealthy family, regardless of the rarity of the marriage itself, and consented. 

Adamus knew he had a ridiculous smile on his face as he crossed the atrium, for he always looked funny when he was being a besotted fool about Tomias, and today Tomias was his brand new husband.

~

Adamus was feeding Tomias a grape as they lay naked and tangled in the bed clothes. There was only a plate of food between them when the peace was shattered by an almighty rumbling boom and the earth began to tremble more fiercely than it had since the Great Disaster years before. Tomias and Adamus both cried out in alarm, struggling to get to their feet, only managing to do so as the trembling slowed to a rumble that they felt through the stone floors. However, the rumbling did not end as it usually did. 

“Adamus, what is happening?” Tomias asked, looking towards his husband worriedly.

Adamus rushed to gather his clothes. “Get dressed, I shall go see,” he instructed, sparing Tomias a comforting glance before rushing out. All over the house, servants were running around, clearly having been attempting to save things from being shattered by the terrible shaking. Adamus rushed out of the vestibule into the street, only to stop in his tracks, frozen, as he turned the direction all heads in the streets were turned. Adamus gaped in shock at the sight before his eyes; the great mount Vesuvius appeared to be on fire. There was a great cloud rising high into the sky, shaped almost like a tree with a flattened top and many branches reaching outwards. The distance it reached into the sky was unimaginably high. Adamus went back inside when he realized he could see better from the garden wall. 

“Adamus?!” Tomias caught his arm, yelping when Adamus caught his hand and dragged him after him. “Adamus, what is wrong?!”

“Come see,” he said, rushing past servants on the way out back into the garden. They ran to the wall and Adamus climbed up, reaching down to help pull Tomias up, since he was too small to reach. When they were perched on top of the wall, Tomias gave a gasp, hand covering his mouth.

“The mountain! It’s smoking!” Tomias cried and Adamus nodded. “Those clouds are impossible,” he breathed, staring in shock.

Adamus curled his hand in Tomias’s. “Do you think the grass on the mountain caught fire?”

Tomias shook his head. “That would not explain the loud sound,” he said and Adamus had to agree for the strange, low rumbling had not stopped yet. They continued to sit for a while, watching the clouds expanding and coming closer with apprehension. It wasn’t until a strange dust began to fall from the sky that Tomias began to be afraid. “Adamus, it’s ash.” He held out his hand and Adamus examined the dust. “How can the ash from a fire on the mountain be here?”

Adamus shook his head. “We should go inside. This ash is making my throat hurt.” Adamus climbed down and held his hands up for Tomias, catching him to set him down. They headed inside, happy to see the servants had begun cleaning up the damaged pottery and statues. “This is going to be expensive to replace,” he muttered. As they passed through the atrium to go back to their bed, Tomias stopped and gasped, catching Adamus’s attention. “What is it?”

Tomias walked over to the impluvium and looked down. “The water- the water will be undrinkable,” he said, sitting on the edge to touch the dirty sheen of ash across the top of the water. He looked up at Adamus, who clenched his jaw.

“No matter, the stores below will be safe for a while. We can have water brought in until this is clean and refilled.” He pulled Tomias to his feet. “Don’t concern yourself, my love.” He kissed his forehead. “Let’s eat, and then we will worry about this strange ash.”

Tomias nodded and smiled. “Strange ash or not, nothing can ruin the first day of our marriage.”

Adamus kissed his lips sweetly. “The first of many to come.”

~

Tomias was dozing against Adamus’s broad, warm chest after they had their fill of all sorts of breads, cheeses, and fruits, when the strange tapping began to draw him from his dozing state. He opened his eyes, blinking, only to stop when he saw how dark it was outside. He sat up, confused at the sound of servants running around outside their room. He shook Adamus as the tapping began to get louder. “Adamus-“ Tomias was interrupted as he began to hear screams from the distance. “Adamus!”

Adamus woke quickly, only stalled from asking what was wrong when he too heard screaming in the streets. They shared a look of alarm before standing to rush out into the atrium. Immediately, they knew something was wrong. Servants were running about, terror etched into every face. “Antonia!” He stopped a girl running past. “What is happening?”

She looked at her master’s face with fear painted into her features. “Stone- Stone is raining from the skies!”

Tomias let out a cry as a large chunk of rock chose that moment to fall into the impluvium and splash water out onto his feet. “Adamus?” he cried in confusion.

Adamus released the serving girl and ran back out into the street, only to cry out as small stones rained down on him. He held his hands over his head, one shielding his eyes as he looked around. All around them, people were fleeing. The sky was darkened from the smoke rising from the mountain and in the street people were clutching children and belongings as they ran every direction, fleeing the falling rocks. However, he also saw some people simply bringing their children inside and barricading the doors along the street. He looked up at the cloud and then turned to go back into the house.

“Adamus?” Tomias asked nervously. “What is happening?”

Adamus walked over and caught his hands, kissing his knuckles. “Do not worry, it’s just something the wind is blowing from the mountain’s fires.” He walked over and stood on the ledge around the impluvium, raising himself even taller. “Do not panic,” he ordered, stopping servants with his order. “I am remaining here,” he announced. “If you wish to flee, you may do so. However, I do not think there is anything to fear indoors. Rather, the raining pebbles outdoors will bruise you and hurt your eyes.” He looked and saw the lingering fear in some of the servants’ eyes. “Go if you want,” he said graciously. “You will not be penalized for fear. You can return when the clouds are gone.”

Adamus was not surprised, after seeing their fear, to see many of his servants continue their course and flee the house. He shook his head as he went back to Tomias’s side. Tomias caught his hand and gave him a forced smile. “You are right, my dear.” He nodded. “The rocks will hurt anyone outside but inside we are safe. This will pass once the gods are appeased.”

Adamus smiled down at him and kissed his head. “Let’s go show them our worship just in case we can speed along their calming,” he said, linking their fingers as they headed to the household altar together.

~

Night had fallen, though it had been dark for hours, before Adamus and Tomias realized their error in staying. They were having a small supper when, all of a sudden, they began to hear loud crashes and slamming sounds, not unlike those of stones breaking at the quarry. Within moments, their fears multiplied as a large crash against the roof in one of the rooms to their left resulted in- to their horror- the ceiling collapsing in under the weight of a gigantic rock. Tomias screamed as another crash to their left shattered in part of the wall and a giant rock- almost the size of a dog- flew into the room.

Adamus leapt across the table and grabbed Tomias’s arm, urging him to run, barely getting them out of the room before the entire ceiling collapsed. “Quickly!” He rushed into their bedroom and gathered his scrolls and their jewels into a small chest, shoving a loaf of bread, two candles, and an extra toga into it. He grabbed his money bag and shoved it inside his clothes before rushing back to where Tomias was ducked in the doorway. “We have to get somewhere safer.”

Tomias nodded and they held hands as they ran out into the street. They were startled by how deep the ash blanketed the streets. They were not the only ones fleeing, it became clear. There were others who had stayed rushing around with their belongings hastily packed. “The baths,” Adamus announced, tugging Tomias towards the center of town. “Those walls are thicker and the floors deeper than any home, we should be safe there,” he said and Tomias followed him, dropping hands so they could run faster.

When they got into the square, however, they stopped in horror, watching as people crawled from the rubble of what had been the baths before the roof had collapsed inwards. The ground quaked suddenly and even more buildings began to crack ominously, collapsing in places that had been damaged by the flying stones. Tomias looked towards the mountain and was horrified to see great fires raging in the distance. “Adamus!” He pointed and Adamus looked on fearfully.

Tomias heard a crack and looked up just in time to scream and drag Adamus out of the way of a falling wall. “Come on, we must get to my father’s boat!” he cried suddenly. “We can escape to the sea, quickly!” Adamus allowed Tomias to lead the way as they ran through the streets, dodging falling debris and flying rocks as they fled down towards the port. They rounded the street corner onto the open space leading to the docks, only for Adamus to slow to a stop in horror at the sight that met them.

The sea was _gone_.

Tomias let out a terrified cry and ran to the edge of the stairs down to the docks, shocked to see not only no boats- clearly others had their ideas much earlier- but also that the water was _gone_. Dead fish littered the exposed seabed. Even with the light of the fires sprouting around the city, the water was too far away from shore to be seen. “But- what-“ Tomias heard screams and a terrible rumbling from the other end of the city, screams so loud they echoed over the distance, the rumbling, and the terrifying thunder of lightening in the clouds of ash above them. Tomias turned back to Adamus and shook his head as tears filled his eyes as he saw the blank horror on his husband’s face. “No,” he whimpered, shaking his head.

Adamus walked to him, blinking as tears filled his blue eyes. “Tomias,” he whispered, taking his hands. “Tomias-“

Tomias shook his head vehemently. “NO. No, this can’t-“ He let out a pained gasp, which only hurt more as the very air burned to breathe. “Adamus,” he choked out and Adamus leaned down, pressing their foreheads together.

“I’m so sorry,” Adamus croaked weakly. “I chose to stay behind. I- I made the choice for us to stay at home. I-“ He choked on his words. “I have doomed us!” he gasped out, face screwed up in pain.

Tomias shook his head, letting out a broken sob. “But we only had one day,” he sobbed and Adamus let out a pained sound. Tomias clutched at Adamus’s hands as his knees gave out and he stumbled. Adamus knelt in front of him, staring ahead as Tomias’s head fell against his chest as he cried. “I had a life planned with you,” he cried. “Adamus, we were supposed to have _years_ ,” he wailed. “Why is this happening?”

Adamus pulled Tomias into his arms, clutching him close. “I don’t know,” he admitted weakly, fingers curling in Tomias’s clothes. “Tomias, I don’t _know_.” He pushed him back and cupped his face in his hands. “But I’m here,” he whispered, tears slipping down his cheeks. “I’m right here.” He kissed him, holding him closer. “Tomias, I had so many plans,” he admitted, rocking slightly. “We were going to be so happy.”

“Why would the gods give you to me and then take you away?” Tomias cried weakly. “I wanted a life time with you, not one day.”

Adamus swallowed hard and smiled sadly. “I promised to spend the rest of my life with you,” he breathed, swiping the tears from beneath his eyes. “If one day is all we got, I do not regret this day at all. I woke up with you in my arms. In our home.”

Tomias laughed wetly. “In our bed.” He sniffled and nodded, sliding his fingers into Adamus’s hair, their foreheads together. “We will have more time,” he breathed, giving Adamus a confident nod. “We will have an eternity.”

Adamus nodded, looking into his husband’s heartbroken, terrified eyes. “We’ll cross the river Styx together. We’ll stand hand in hand before the gods. We will spend forever together in the Fields of Elysium. I know we will.”

Tomias nodded, though he let out a weak sob either way. “I’m scared!” he cried. “Adamus, I don’t want to die. I don’t want you to die-“

“I know.” Adamus pulled Tomias into his arms and kissed him fiercely. “I know, I’m scared too, but don’t be.” He stroked the golden hair he loved so much and smiled. “Don’t be scared, I’m with you. I’ll always be with you. Just you wait. I will be with you forever.” He kissed him. “Nothing can stop me from finding you if we’re parted by death. I’d challenge any god to stop me from finding my husband. The titans themselves could not keep us apart.”

Tomias looked up, his breaths becoming harder and harder to take. “Ad-Adamus,” he breathed. “I love you. We’ll be together again. We have to be. One day as your husband is not enough. I will love you for all eternity. I’ll find my way back to you.”

Adamus nodded. “I will love you for all eternity, Tomias. I will find you.”

Tomias let out a weak sob and nodded. “Hold me? Please?”

Adamus curled Tomias into his arms, clutching his thin body tightly. “For the rest of our life,” he swore in a broken whisper, closing his eyes against the impending darkness that was closing around them.

Adamus did not break his promise.

~

When Tommy woke up, he took a startled gasp, grabbing at his throat as he still remembered the burn of ash and volcanic dust burning him. He looked over at Adam and was surprised to see Adam was simply sitting with his back to the wall and his knees pulled up, tears streaking his face as he looked down at the floor. “Adam?”

Adam looked up and swallowed hard. “It was my fault,” he whispered hoarsely. “I- I thought it wasn’t a big deal and I was- I was stupid and it killed us.” He shook his head, face screwing up. “I promised you forever and you only got one day before I _killed us_ -“

“Adam, don’t,” Tommy said weakly. He shuffled over and sat beside Adam, leaning against his shoulder as he wormed one of Adam’s hands free, lacing their fingers together. “It isn’t real-“

“It _was_ though!” Adam shook his head. “These are past lives. They have to be. This was us in Pompeii. It was different this time.” He let his head fall back. “In that village, raiders killed you while I fought them. In Massachusetts, a man caught us kissing when it should’ve been safe.” He looked ahead distantly, a broken look in his eyes. “In Pompeii I thought I knew better than the people fleeing and I _chose_ for us to stay and we _died_.” He winced. “We were what… fuck, eighteen? Twenty? Less maybe. And I killed us-“

“I trusted you,” Tommy argued fiercely. “I trusted your judgment because you were my husband and I thought you were better, smarter, and would always do right. I was able to make my own decisions but instead of suggesting we run sooner, I didn’t even question that it might be better because I KNEW you couldn’t be wrong. You didn’t kill us, Adam.” He flinched. “God, so many people were still there. Not many people ran away when there was still hope, clearly you didn’t make the stupid mistake, just the common one.” He smiled and reached up to cup Adam’s cheek. “And hey.” He turned Adam to him. “You weren’t wrong,” he said gently. “You said you would love me for all eternity and, as far as I can tell, our love lasted from over two-thousand years before Pompeii until now, nearly two-thousand years later. Our past selves just never knew that.”

Adam turned to Tommy with a fierce look in his eyes. “I won’t fail you this time, TommyJoe,” he whispered, looking into Tommy’s eyes. “We may not have made it in those five lives before but I’ll be _damned_ if I let us suffer that way again.”

Tommy smiled and leaned in to kiss him sweetly. “One thing’s for sure, we’ve lived longer than they ever did.” He made a face. “They, we, whatever. I still don’t buy this past-life thing.” He shrugged. “I don’t know about yours, but in Germany, I was about eighteen or nineteen, you couldn’t have been much more. In Egypt I’m pretty sure we were a little older but still only about twenty-one or so. In Pompeii I couldn’t have been more than seventeen.”

Adam chuckled. “Yeah. In Mercia I was probably about eighteen or nineteen, in Massachusetts about twenty or twenty-one.”

Tommy nodded. “And I’m thirty-two and you’re thirty-one. Clearly, we’ve lived much longer than they ever did.” He stroked Adam’s cheek. “We’ve got a chance now. For us. For them. Whatever,” he said with a little shrug and smirk.

Adam smiled and closed the gap, kissing Tommy slowly and with as much passion as he could put into such a kiss before breaking it just enough to breathe words against Tommy’s lips.

“For love.”

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to be as historically accurate as I could but there were some things twisted a little for artistic purposes. The following notes explain a few of those. MANY SPOILERS!
> 
> Historical notes:
> 
> \- In 1939, it was not yet law for Jews to wear a Yellow Badge (Star of David) in Berlin, Germany. However, I included this because it is one of the more iconic images of Nazi Germany.  
> \- The use of 'people are going to be exterminated' and the suggestion it was in a paper is not necessarily accurate. There were many publically published papers regarding ridding Germany of Jewish People made by a number of people, but I have no PROOF this wording was ever used. It is entirely plausible that word of mouth replaced the word 'annihilation' to 'extermination' after a writer transcribed Hitler's 1939 speech on the sixth anniversary of his rise to power. Once again, this is just something I took artistic license with.  
> \- There may be some confusion with the 'I miss music' line. Long before Jewish people were sent to ghettos or later to work camps, many liberties were taken from them one by one. One of the first things to go was allowing Jews to own radio sets.  
> \- It isn't likely that Adam or Thomas would be very common names in 7th century Mercia but I could not find ANY example of names from that time and area. I simply chose Adam and Thomas because I had absolutely no example of what they MIGHT be.  
> \- Yes, under Khufu capital of Egypt was Memphis, not Cairo. That isn't a typo.  
> \- Musicans, especialy singers, were highly regarded in the royal courts of Pharoahs during the Old Kingdom. It is entirely reasonable to believe that harming a very talented royal singer would be a slap in the fact to the singer's Pharoah.  
> \- Thotmes and Addaya being rather open may not have been uncommon. Not much is known about homosexuality in the Old Kingdom, but it is suggested that a pair of men buried together in a tomb bearing a painting of them embracing is the 'oldest documented example of homosexuality', so it isn't impossible that it was just a part of life for men to love each other.  
> \- If you aren't aware of the history of Witch Trials in New England, Andover was the site of a few accusations but not quite as bad as Salem. No, not many men were accused of witchcraft, but it did happen. Word of mouth was all that was needed to convince others that someone was a witch.  
> \- Witches were hanged almost exclusively in New England. There were no burnings at the stake so I chose to go with hanging here as well for accuracy. Sorry if it isn't as dramatic.  
> \- Pompeii (the entire area, actually) was used to minor earthquakes all of the time. Only a few years before Vesuvius erupted there was a major earthquake that caused actual damage, but minor, little earthquakes happened multiple times per week. The only warning of volcanic activity was a slightly stronger eathquake the morning it errupted.  
> \- While not common, male-male marriages did happen in Ancient Rome. They weren't AS acceptable because no children would result meaning no one to carry on a family's name, but that was not enough to prevent them from being legal and stop them from happening.  
> -I followed a real timeline for Pompeii. Vesuvius erupted like an explosion (By the end of the 2-day eruption, Vesuvius expended one hundred thousand times the thermal energy of Hiroshima) at 1pm and within 30 minutes ash was falling on Pompeii. By 3pm pebbles and debris began to fall and many people fled. However, many others stayed behind, believing it wasn't that bad. Around 5pm larger rock chunks began to rain on the city and destroy buildings. This is when most people attempted to flee only to find that mudflows clogging the river upstream as well as seismic activity leading to water recession not unlike a tidal wave beached all the boats in the harbor that hadn't left already. The people of Pompeii who were basically stranded at this point mostly survived in the rubble where they had taken cover until about 7am the morning after eruption began. This is when a series of pyroclastic surges finally breeched the city walls, killing everyone left.  
> -Unlike previous predictions of people suffocating from ash, it is now believed that the waves of super-heated air killed people instantly. This is why many of the casts of bodies (the ones you see on all the specials and websites) are twisted in strange positions. The flash-heating induced basically insta-rigor mortis in the very instant that the person (or in some cases, animal) was killed.


End file.
